The Ultimate Soccer Thread 2012-2013 Vol. 3 Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga etc

[Kimchi Papi]

I agree with beans718, Mancini deserved to get fired. That side looked lost & rudderless many times during the season. I think I even remember hearing a quote saying he didn't have the players he needed to repeat winning the prem again which floored me.

A co-worker whose a City fan said that Mancini had absolutely no relationship with his coaching staff or his players. He pretty much ignored the players. It was his way & that's it. I Didn't Mancini even say he wanted to punch Nasri earlier in the season when Nasri was struggling?

With the way his side looked this year, it should prevent Mancini from getting a plum gig. Maybe a lesser team, but if I were a team executive for a top flight club, I wouldn't hire him.

 

[jada2001retro]

If Wenger had the money to buy who he wanted like Mancini did, we would have won at least 5 trophies in the past few years.

 

[lyonbc1]

Yeah, I think Mancini needed to go, that Lescott article kinda gave a glimpse into his relationships (or lackthereof) with players....that team has top tier talent and while there are some wack jobs *Tevez*, they should have been better

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Since we're posting pics of championship parades I gotta post Barca's... 4 La Liga titles in 5 years not bad (22nd overall). Looking forward to the summer transfers to see how the Blaugrana "re-calibrate" the side for next season.

 

[eiddyfouw]

If Wenger had the money to buy who he wanted like Mancini did, we would have won at least 5 trophies in the past few years.

Clearly someone at Arsenal is lying. Manager or owners.

Cause I've always heard the owners saying he has more than enough money to buy player (i'm not saying City money) but entertaining 30m+ bids should be possible. But Wenger consistently says players are too expensive.

Even if Wenger had PSG/City's budget...I don't think he would spend...it's not part of his philosophy...

He's very much like Klopp in this regard, finding lesser known young talent and turning them into beasts.

It's a respectable mentality, but one needs to win with that mentality (ala Klopp).

 

[keepie uppie]

pretty dope tshirt

 

[xtapolapacetl]

I agree with beans718, Mancini deserved to get fired. That side looked lost & rudderless many times during the season. I think I even remember hearing a quote saying he didn't have the players he needed to repeat winning the prem again which floored me.

A co-worker whose a City fan said that Mancini had absolutely no relationship with his coaching staff or his players. He pretty much ignored the players. It was his way & that's it. I Didn't Mancini even say he wanted to punch Nasri earlier in the season when Nasri was struggling?

With the way his side looked this year, it should prevent Mancini from getting a plum gig. Maybe a lesser team, but if I were a team executive for a top flight club, I wouldn't hire him.

Mancini is a bum. Such an overrated coach. He flip flops so many times. I remember him saying that Tevez would never play for City as long as he was coach last Champions League campaign in the loss to Bayern when Tevez refused to come off the bench, only to have Tevez playing for City later that same season.

He never did **** in Champions League with Inter and couldn't lead City out of the group stage two straight times.. Yelling at the refs in desperation after the games end when he has the squad to advance comfortably past the group stage without relying on the refs. I love how after one time Inter won and it was time for Inter's players to congratulate their coach Mancini for winning the season, when it was Zlatan's turn he came up to him and said "You're welcome".

They always sing "Mancini, Oooo.." at Etihad Stadium celebrating him because he won the Premiership with the slimmest margin possible, but the dude basically got a BLANK CHECK to buy all the players he wanted. I feel so sorry for them. They are desperate to have a coach legend of their own after having to live next to United fans and their celebration of Ferguson, but in reality Mancini isn't worthy of licking the dog **** off SAF's shoes. He never built any kind of playing style or any team strengh for City, basically relying on acts of individual brilliance from City's players that he spent so much money on.

I very much doubt that Pellegrini is the solution though, so basically City are screwed.

 

[lyonbc1]

^^^They need to spend their entire budget on defenders , and get Sanchez outta there, then they'll be back to glory

Saw some rumors about Higuain being potentially done going to Arsenal....not holding my breath but if so

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Defenders would be ideal, but with Valdez wanting to go elsewhere a goalie is of course needed. I would like to see what they do with Cesc & the midfield especially since Xavi is getting a long in the tooth (). Xavi can't continue to play the minutes he's been playing (neither can Puyol). I'd like to see another scorer that can consistently do so aside from Messi. I don't think a major overhaul is necessary. I am concerned with Tito though, I hope his health will be ok.

Here's the latest Neymar post... If this is true, gotta like what Pep is doing so far (assembling young talent to an already talented team).

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/tran...n-is-a-done-deal-claims-former-santos?ICID=HP

Neymar to Bayern is a done deal, claims former Santos official
By Stefan Coerts
May 14, 2013 11:29:00 AM

The Brazil international will travel to Barcelona this summer to open talks but a ex-official of his current club believes he is Allianz Arena-bound.

Former Santos official Vicente Cascione has claimed that Neymar will leave the club for Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window to link up with former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

Barca are believed to be sitting in pole position to sign the 21-year-old, with the Brazil international having planned a trip to Catalunya after the Confederations Cup to discuss a potential transfer, while Real Madrid are also closely monitoring the attacker's situation.

However, Cascione has insisted that Neymar will move to the Bundesliga instead and has already wrapped up a transfer to the Allianz Arena.

"I have this information first hand. Neymar has signed for Bayern Munich. It's already a done deal," Cascione wrote on his blog.

"I am not speculating here. This information is irrefutable. From August this year on, the player will be part of Bayern's squad.

"So his next destination will not be Spain, like many expected. He's not going to Barcelona or Real Madrid. He will go to Germany."

However, Bayern were quick to move to deny the rumours, with club spokesman Markus Horwick telling T-Online: "This is complete nonsense. There's absolutely no truth in this claim."

Neymar has a contract with Santos until after the 2014 World Cup and his current club have so far insisted that he will not leave this summer.

Nevertheless, the attacker is keen to test himself in Europe and could be tempted to leave Santos this summer under the right circumstances.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

If Wenger had the money to buy who he wanted like Mancini did, we would have won at least 5 trophies in the past few years.

Clearly someone at Arsenal is lying. Manager or owners.

Cause I've always heard the owners saying he has more than enough money to buy player (i'm not saying City money) but entertaining 30m+ bids should be possible. But Wenger consistently says players are too expensive.

Even if Wenger had PSG/City's budget...I don't think he would spend...it's not part of his philosophy...

He's very much like Klopp in this regard, finding lesser known young talent and turning them into beasts.

It's a respectable mentality, but one needs to win with that mentality (ala Klopp).

I'm not bashing Wenger or the Gunners (especially since I've enjoyed watching many of the side they've fielded over the years), but I think the game has passed Wenger at this point. The older you get, the more settled you get refusing to change or adapt. It's a fact of life & with sports you always have to change & adapt. You can't use the same model over & over, you just can't.

I think what we're seeing with Wenger is that he's set in his way of doing things especially since it was successful in years past & he's not one for re-calibrating the way he needs to in order to build a better side. I also think he's got a bunch of yes men around him & no one to really give him an honest opinion.

It's a shame really because again, I've enjoyed watching the Gunners over the years & he was one hell of a coach/teacher.

 

[mr marcus]

When I got into soccer 1.5 years ago I chose mcfc over Tottenham but I'm not feeling how they run ****....might have to rethink ****

 

[jada2001retro]

Clearly someone at Arsenal is lying. Manager or owners.

Cause I've always heard the owners saying he has more than enough money to buy player (i'm not saying City money) but entertaining 30m+ bids should be possible. But Wenger consistently says players are too expensive.

Even if Wenger had PSG/City's budget...I don't think he would spend...it's not part of his philosophy...

He's very much like Klopp in this regard, finding lesser known young talent and turning them into beasts.

It's a respectable mentality, but one needs to win with that mentality (ala Klopp).

Wenger has won plenty, it's very hard to find young talent and develop them and keep them there.

All kids these days are money hungry more than anything, take a look at Gotze, at Dortmund since he was 8 and leaves for Bayern for money.

 

[eiddyfouw]

When I got into soccer 1.5 years ago I chose mcfc over Tottenham but I'm not feeling how they run ****....might have to rethink ****

Surprise Surprise.

Clearly someone at Arsenal is lying. Manager or owners.

Cause I've always heard the owners saying he has more than enough money to buy player (i'm not saying City money) but entertaining 30m+ bids should be possible. But Wenger consistently says players are too expensive.

Even if Wenger had PSG/City's budget...I don't think he would spend...it's not part of his philosophy...

He's very much like Klopp in this regard, finding lesser known young talent and turning them into beasts.

It's a respectable mentality, but one needs to win with that mentality (ala Klopp).

Wenger has won plenty, it's very hard to find young talent and develop them and keep them there.

All kids these days are money hungry more than anything, take a look at Gotze, at Dortmund since he was 8 and leaves for Bayern for money.

I'm not 100% familiar with Gotze's reasoning. But is it also possible that he left because he saw a change in tide? I mean, Kagawa (gone) and Hummels and Lewandowski rumoured to leave, I thought Gotze might have seen an Arsenal pattern brewing and decided to jump ship. Granted, I don't even know what his new wages look like...

 

[dlo13]

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has unveiled his squad for the Confederations Cup, which begins on 15 June. Neither Kaká nor Ronaldinho Gaúcho have made the cut, although there was room for Atlético Mineiro youngster Bernard.

The full squad is as follows:

Júlio César (QPR)
Diego Cavalieri (Fluminense)
Jefferson (Botafogo)

David Luiz (Chelsea)
Thiago Silva (PSG)
Réver (Atlético Mineiro)
Dante (Bayern Munich)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Filipe Luís (Atlético Madrid)
Daniel Alves (Barcelona)
Jean (Fluminense)

Paulinho (Corinthians)
Fernando (Grêmio)
Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich)
Oscar (Chelsea)
Hernanes (Lazio)

Bernard (Atlético Mineiro)
Lucas (PSG)
Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg)
Leandro Damião (Internacional)
Fred (Fluminense)
Neymar (Santos)

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Yeah it's easy to say people leave because they want money or whatever but I think there is more to Gotze leaving Dortmund. Loyalty is two sided. People often forget that. A lot of time players have to consider whether they want to join a club to win or to make money, Gotze was able to have both & also join a club that's had sustained success over decades. BM is also getting the kind of manager in Pep that players love playing for. Also add that you get to stay basically at home in your native country. Why wouldn't you want to leave for that? You have to be stupid not to take advantage of that...

Kaka didn't make it again? Maaan, he's been playing very well for the last 2 months or so whenever he get's on the pitch...

 

[mr marcus]

hold up...to be fair I didn't know they were in the running for the title like that....I just liked Mario a lot so I rolled with them....outside of them I watched tottenham a lot last season and QPR


But I do know ima keep up with qpr next season cause I'm really disappointed that they got relegated

 

[Kimchi Papi]

The first line of my previous post should've said I disagree with beans718. Mancini deserved to get fired for the reasons I mention.

 

[luiscola]

damn neymar to bayern. jesus, reminds me of los galaticos 

 

[champcruthik]

Mancini's still a top-10, maybe top-5 manager.

He underachieved relative to City's exorbitant transfer spending and nonexistent wage structure.

 

[champcruthik]

City shown rumored interest in Robben, deemed surplus at Bayern.

How many managers would you take over Mancini?

Pep, Mou, Fergie.

Maybe Ancelotti, Klopp, Allegri.

AVB, Bielsa, Pellegrini even lower down.

 

[eiddyfouw]

Mancini's still a top-10, maybe top-5 manager.

He underachieved relative to City's exorbitant transfer spending and nonexistent wage structure.

City shown rumored interest in Robben, deemed surplus at Bayern.

How many managers would you take over Mancini?

Pep, Mou, Fergie.

Maybe Ancelotti, Klopp, Allegri.

AVB, Bielsa, Pellegrini even lower down.

In no particular order

1.Fergie
2.Wenger (yeah, I said it!)
3. Mourinho
4. Klopp
5. Heynckes
6. Guardiola
7. AVB
8. Benitez
9. Redknapp
10. Moyes
11. Bielsa
12. Del Bosque
13. Pellegrini
14. Hiddink
15. Hell, I'd even through in Scolari over Mancini
16. Ancelotti
17.Low (Germany national manager)
18. Lucescu
19. van Gaal (Dutch national manager)
20. Hitzfeld (Swiss national manager)



I would pick any one of those managers to manage my club over Mancini in a heartbeat.

 

[champcruthik]

Should have specified, purely club managers.

You're still biased. OD'ing with that list.

Moyes, Harry, and Rafa? No, sir.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I agree with everyone on eiddyfouw's list except I'd remove Redknapp & Rafa... I wouldn't want them coaching my son's U9 side...

 

[tkim1343]

Guus hiddink brings the best out of his players all of his teams overachieve except that short stint with Chelsea. Being an international manager is harder than a club IMO.

I'd put him, scolari, and del bosque in a top5

 

[eiddyfouw]

Should have specified, purely club managers.

You're still biased. OD'ing with that list.

Moyes, Harry, and Rafa? No, sir.

Granted I threw in a few NT managers for thought...

But....

Rafa: Can we please not forget he won La Liga twice with Valencia. He also won the UEFA Cup. Champions League winning manager. Did very well with Liverpool, performing better than anyone in many years previous to him. And he's the only manager in recent history to make Torres play well consistently that in itself is an achievement.

Disclaimer: there is no bias here because he's going to United's next manager. I'm confident in his approach, I'm just not sure if he can manage a club the size of United. Only time will tell.

Moyes: He may not have won trophies, but Everton has very limited resources. I mean Goodison Park only seats about 40k people. He manages to find solid players and work them (Pienaar, Baines, Fellaini, Jelavic and lately Miralles). He's been pretty consistent over the past few years, and has got Everton some European action (even if it is just Europa). His consistency with limited resources have impressed me, I've always said that a United match with Everton is always full of surprises, and you never know.

'Arry: This may be a bit of a reach, but hell, it's my opinion, so why not. I like what he did at Tottenham. He was climbing reguarly with Spurs, with a Chairman that doesn't like to spend. He worked Bale and Modric very well. He's got a solid eye for seeing talent early (see the press conference I posted with him and Lampard in the 90's few pages back). What he did with Portsmouth is also remarkable.


Mancini had a blank check. None of the 3 managers I've just mentioned had his kind of resources, and he STILL couldn't perform any level of consistency other than snatching the title in the final seconds. Seriously, Steve Bruce with Mancini's resources probably could have won the title. Ian Holloway, hell Paul Ince probably could have won the title with Mancini's resources. Cause those managers could have done the same thing that Mancini did. Throw 11 men out there, wait and rely on their individual talent.